Before the flame fest begins.....Platt, there's a difference between
"justifying" something as caring and REALLY caring. Caring involves
having the other person's best interest at heart. I don't think
anyone in any of your examples had the best interest of the OTHER
person at heart. Not really.
As far as what Pirsig believes - only he knows what he believes. Re:
your quote: (Pirsig would approve the choosing of Albert Einstein as
Person of the Century over Mother Theresa.) endquote.
I think you're right on about caring if you mean that caring which is
"I SHOULD care about my neighbor" (like it's WRONG not to care.) But
I think caring - true caring (Love) goes deeper than that. Where do
you see love fitting into the MoQ? Pure-true-love. I'm interested in
hearing your take on Love and the MoQ.
Well....have a safe New year's all.....
Shalom
David Lind
Trickster@postmark.net
Platt Holden wrote:
> Hi David B, Jonathan, Jon, Gina and Everyone:
>
> I suppose it was to be expected that the Christmas season would encourage
> some contributors to emphasize “caring” as the top moral principle although
> that lofty position is hardly supported by the Metaphysics of Quality.
>
> In fact, the MoQ firmly attaches the Judeo-Christian ideals of caring, love
> they neighbor, do unto others, etc. to the social level. Further, these
ideals
> have been around for at least 2000 years, placing them in the static
quality
> category. I’m reminded of the following Pirsig quote:
>
> “Static morality is full of heroes and villains, loves and hatreds, carrots
and
> sticks. Its values don't change by themselves. Unless they are altered by
> Dynamic Quality they say the same thing year after year. Sometimes they
> say it more loudly, sometimes more softly, but the message is always the
> same.” (Lila, Chap. 9)
>
> By MoQ standards the message of “caring” is as fine an example of static
> morality as you’re likely to find. Nor has caring always been the beacon of
> hope for humanity that some attribute to it. After all, caring for the
souls of
> nonbelievers was the excuse for the tortures of the Inquisition, and caring
for
> the purity of the human race was the rationale for Nazi genocide. Caring
can
> cut many ways. (The Russians currently care a lot about not losing
> Chechnya in the name of preserving the Russian “union.”)
>
> I don’t see where Pirsig gives caring any more importance than other values
> that maintain the social order. In the MoQ, the intellect is morally above
> social quality. (Pirsig would approve the choosing of Albert Einstein as
> Person of the Century over Mother Theresa.)
>
> Compassion, sensitivity, loving-kindness -- these are not words in the
> vocabulary of the MoQ. It seems to me that if they were vital in the big
MoQ
> scheme of things, Pirsig would have used them a lot more often.
>
> Platt
>
>
>
>
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